Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Monday, November 29, 2010

Eric and I met up on Saturday Night at the Irish Rose one of Rockford, Illinois' fine eating establishments. We had a friend take a few pictures. One of which is above. I have a few pictures of the friend, but she declines to be identified. Sorry.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

A U.S. Border Patrol spokesman says country singer Willie Nelson was charged with marijuana possession after 6 ounces was found aboard his tour bus in Texas.

Patrol spokesman Bill Brooks says the bus pulled into the Sierra Blanca, Texas, checkpoint about 9 a.m. Friday. Brooks says an officer smelled pot when a door was opened and a search turned up marijuana.

Brooks says the Hudspeth County sheriff was contacted and Nelson was among three people arrested.

You know I'll bet that is is a real chick magnet to say "I busted Willie Nelson for pot".

I wrote this back in 2005 (I haven't checked the links some of them may be broken) and exactly what I was talking about then has come to pass. And back then? Well of course back then (before the TSA Follies) I was a hysterical weenie. This was America. Land of the Free. Home of the Cowards. Scared to death of plants and plant extracts. And the Government was saving us from the evil plants. To be sure. Because, you know, some people were smoking the plants. Well it is wide open now. There are no restraints on the government. Who will soon be smoking you.

All our constitutional protections have been flattened in the name of fighting drugs. Now that the laws no longer protect users of the wrong drugs there really is nothing standing between the American government and its citizens except inertia.

The right is more than willing to give up its traditional protections to fight drugs. There is nothing to stop the left when they regain power from using this machinery for their own purposes.

Every time we weaken the protections on the least favored we open the way for the precident to be applied to the rest of us.

It dosn't seem to scare most people. It scares me.

The machinery is in place. It just needs the right marching orders.

Buddy so kindly explains to me why the laws for taking property of people accused of drug crimes is a good idea. You see those devils will give the property to realatives or friends and horror of horors crime will pay. As if the Government Cocaine Price Support and Gang Finance Program was not designed for that very purpose.

Robert Bolt wrote a play about it which I will quote here. Thomas More is arguing with Roper about the seriousness of swearing an oath:

More: No, far below; but let me draw your attention to a fact - I'm not God. The currents and eddies of right and wrong, which you find such plain sailing, I can't navigate. I'm no voyager. But in the thickets of the law, oh, there I'm a forrester. I doubt if there's a man alive who could follow me there, thank God....

Alice: While you talk, he's gone!

More: And go he should, if he was the Devil himself, until he broke the law!

Roper: So now you'd give the Devil benefit of law!

More: Yes. What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?

Roper: I'd cut down every law in England to do that!

More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you - where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country's planted thick with laws from coast to coast - man's laws, not God's - and if you cut them down - and you're just the man to do it - d'you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake.

===

Well the Devil (evil dope fiend) has been beaten hard. And now there is very little to stop the government from beating you. You contraband smuggling suspect you.

I can't figure out the liberal philosophy. On the one hand, they voice an explicit distrust of the government and authority, yet on the other hand their policy solutions all require an intrusive, big government. It's not a philosophy; it's schizophrenia.

Let me change just one word and lets see if we get any closer to reality?

I can't figure out the conservative philosophy. On the one hand, they voice an explicit distrust of the government and authority, yet on the other hand their policy solutions all require an intrusive, big government. It's not a philosophy; it's schizophrenia.

The answer is simple. We are a one Party State. We have two factions of the Bigger State Party vying for control. And at the end of the day you can be sure of one result. A bigger state.

Anytime anyone says anything libertarian, spit on them. Libertarians are by definition enemies of the state....

I wonder if he was reading The Government Way? Or perhaps he fears all those annoyed or worse by the TSA might be getting Small Government Fever. I sure hope so. Because America will be returning to what it started out as and once was. A fine home for Enemies Of The State.

I don't know how State worshipers got to be a majority in this country (we have two wings of the State Lovers Party - commonly referred to as liberal and conservative) but I'm going to do as much as I can to wrench the monkey works.

Conservatives, like liberals, when they imagine a government program imagine that the job will be done well. I on the other hand imagine it will be done the government way. Which is why I'm a libertarian. I have the American disease: I don't trust the government. Government operates on the LCD principle. And that is a screen. A screen used in everything government does. Oh. Yeah. LCD? Lowest Common Denominator. And the lowest common denominator when it comes to government? Criminals. Every one subject to a government program gets treated like a criminal. Except those running the program. The most popular criminals these days are dope criminals. Contraband don't you know? The current TSA Follies are driving that home.

The government has practiced these techniques for several decades on dopers. How do we know? Occasionally the dope police make a mistake and get the wrong person. Some one with a voice. And the police terrorize them in the same way they would if the people were the usual no accounts.

I think a good chunk of people who call themselves libertarians came to do so after having a nightmarish encounter with some angry bureaucrat, petty city councilman, a bad run-in with the police, or, perhaps, have had the misfortune to know firsthand the benefits of medical marijuana. They then began to see how even the most benevolent and innocuos of government actions screw other people over, too. And, just maybe, they start to see how it all fits together

I'd say the TSA will be adding another 30 or 40 million to our ranks. I believe statist political philosophies whether of the liberal or conservative persuasion are on the way out.

So why aren't cops kicking THEIR doors in? Why aren't THEIR sons pulled over a dozen times in nine months? Why are black men 12 times likelier to be jailed for drugs than white ones? Why aren't WHITE communities robbed of their fathers, brothers, sons?

The answer is pretty simple. If the laws were equally enforced the Drug War would be over in a few months. White people wouldn't stand for it.

The TSA has brought Drug War tactics to white people. It will be interesting to see how long it lasts. Any revolt will have to be a popular revolt. Because the protections have long since been torn down to get at the dope fiends.

I get all kinds of e-mails and comments. One constant theme among my social "conservative" friends runs something like this: "If we don't keep all the laws we have and especially the ones targeting rope smokers civilization will break down and the child molesters will be out in force."

Uh. Wouldn't that be "Law worship"? And doesn't that violate the First Commandment of the sacred text? For those of you unfamiliar with the text I could post it in the original Hebrew. But few read that language anymore (pity). So let me give you the short version translation: You shall have no other gods before me.

There was some Jewish guy around 2,000 years ago who complained about law worship I think. What was his name? Give me some time. I'm sure it will come to me.

The the Drug War has helped spawn the TSA. The precedent on how to deal with contraband has been set. It is now going to be applied to everyone. Bet you weren't expecting that were you?

Oh yeah. It turns out that a dope case, Raich vs Gonzales, can be used to justify the mandates of ObamaCare.

Can agriculture be far behind. Not too far. After all they have precedent for banning some plants. Why not just expand the criteria a little. So almost every plant is included? Say all plants that can have any effect what so ever on commerce. Raich vs Gonzales again. A twofor.

There is nothing the Drug War can't do.

How long have people been peeing in a cup to get a job? With hardly a murmur except from libertarians and other crazies. The American people gave up their rights to the Drug War long ago. What you see at airports now is just a moping up operation.

The Drug War put the tools in their hands. Which was fine as long as they were only going after dopers. They now have precedent on their side. Swell. Just swell. You see once every one is under suspicion there are very few limits. Americans gave up their rights to get at the drug fiends. And well you know, fiends have it coming. What ever they get.

But "conservatives" sure had a good long run beating the crap out of the dopers didn't they? Beating the crap out of...... Uh. Oh.

Well I have news for him: They never imagined Vagina Police modeled after the TSA either.

Well super. The gentleman who did the post, James N. Hall III, replied to my above comment with this gem:

M., HOW COULD THEY IMAGINED SUCH EVIL METHODS, THEY WERE ONLY CONCERNED WITH WHAT WAS GOOD FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!

I take it he is shouting mad about the subject. I hear ya dude.

Well needless to say. With an opening like that who could resist? Certainly not I. So I didn't.

Well how could the government think of such a thing? It is what governments do. And you want to hand your daughter's privates over to the government? I have a daughter and it scares the crap out of me.

Why not join me in supporting: Rockford Pro Life who want to fix the problem without government goons and TSA agents.

You know government is evil. A necessary evil. Still evil. And you want to hand over the most intimate parts of your female relatives to evil? Which is why I keep asking if you are insane?

It is very difficult to use evil to do good. It is certainly above my pay grade. You think the idiots in Washington could handle it?

And I then thought some more and added this bit:

I do see where you and I differ. I believe government is a necessary evil. You believe that government is or can be a force for good. As do liberals. I think of it as setting evil against evil. Better to not let either side get too strong lest they come for you. Which means tolerating some evil. Well the moschiach has not returned permanently, so for the time being we are stuck with it.

It is a fallen world my friend. We can make it better. But I'm unwilling to do the kind of evil necessary to make it perfect. I leave that job to the liberals.

The essence of the difference is "What Could Possibly Go Wrong?" Plenty. I guess I'm going to now have to admit my homosexual leanings sort of. I'm an engineer and I have been fucked in the ass more times by Murphy than I'd care to remember let alone recount. And I didn't like it one bit. Like the government, Murphy doesn't have the courtesy to use any lube. I take that back. Sand is the preferred lubricant. Coarse dry sand.

So when I see how things could go wrong my life experience has trained me to avoid the dangers. I have to weigh the evil vs the good and try to determine if there is a net benefit. And uppermost in my mind is "What Could Possibly Go Wrong?" Because I don't like being Murphy's (or government's) bitch.

Who would have thought that a satire, Dr. Strangelove, from forty-six years ago would be everyday reality so many years later. What do I mean? The government has a racket going on to test your bodily fluids for certain chemicals. And Americans submit. Willingly. To get at the dope fiends.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

The 2010 midterm election saw a historically large percentage of voters claim to be conservative – 42 percent, compared to 32 percent in 2006 and 37 percent in 1994.

That is just excellent. Conservatism is sweeping the country. The question is where will that other 10% will come from. (You don't want elections too close. Democrats have a way of finding missed ballots that contain a disproportionate number of Democrat votes. I remember Kennedy - Chicago - 1960.)

I know. The nation has been anti-abortion for some time. How about running on that to pick up the 10%? The last time that was tried (2004 in Illinois) it wasn't just a defeat it was a a debacle. I don't think that one will fly politically even if it is the morally correct thing to do. Being groped by Federal Agents is still fresh in people's minds. Who wants to add another potential groping law?

I have an idea. A TEA Party idea. Why not stick to fiscal issues? Do something like Christie did in New Jersey. No funding for elective abortions. That would please the fiscal hawks and the social conservatives without adding any new duties to government. And leave it at that. Kinda like cutting back first before we start enlarging.

Plus, having government meddling in vaginas gives me the creeps. A Pregnancy Enforcement Administration just doesn't give me the warm fuzzies. Maybe I'm just sceptical about government, but I see lots of opportunities for abuse. Oh. Wait I forgot. It can't happen here. Or as my friend Karridine says: "It can't happen (-scuze me while I vote in THIS EXCEPTION so's gummint can clobber HIM-) here!"

It seems the Senate is about to pass S 510. Maybe. It is about food safety (do you really believe that?) and the regulation of food products that could cause illness from contamination. According to what I consider overblown (for now) rhetoric it will be messing with home gardeners and legacy seed growers and collectors.

“If accepted [S 510] would preclude the public’s right to grow, own, trade, transport, share, feed and eat each and every food that nature makes. It will become the most offensive authority against the cultivation, trade and consumption of food and agricultural products of one’s choice. It will be unconstitutional and contrary to natural law or, if you like, the will of God.” ~Dr. Shiv Chopra, Canada Health whistleblower

Now is that true? I haven't looked. But I doubt it. But suppose it is true. Is it unconstitutional? Of course not. Hemp/cannabis has been banned for a long time on health and safety grounds. Why not everything else? They have decades of precedents on their side.

Well what do you know? The Drug War justification works for ObamaCare and the TSA too. And now the control of plants. There is nothing the Drug War can't do.

It is true. TSA Agents are smuggling bombs into airports to test the system.

Someone please tell me this doesn't actually happen. "Hi Mr. Passenger. I'm a TSA manager. You know I'm not lying to you because of this official-looking laminated badge I have. We need you to help us test airport security. Here's a 'fake' bomb that we'd like you to carry through security in your luggage. Another TSA manager will, um, meet you at your destination. Give the fake bomb to him when you land.

Well it hasn't happened yet. But could it? Suppose some jihadi joins the TSA? With their most excellent screening procedures for new agents. They must be good. Look at the people doing the "job". And then suppose the TSA jihadi substitutes a real bomb for the fake one? The fun will never cease.

The Romans, who supposedly knew a thing or two about security have a question:

As usual I'm trying to talk sense with one of my solipsistic social conservative friends. Rough slog that. You can't reason with faith. I'm trying to figure out if that is a bug or a feature.

Well my friend is questioning the libertarian "faith" which is an interesting way to describe a political philosophy. If I do have the libertarian "faith" I arrived at it through reason. Credo quia absurdum is not a libertarian mode of thought. In fact libertarians despise it.

Libertarianism if it is a moral position is a negative one. Leave people alone if they are not initiating force or fraud.

DRUG WAR = BIG GOVERNMENT

And the Drug War is the prototype for many rights violations now impacting the general public. And you are powerless. The precedents have been set and when they were being set you were silent or cheered them on. Them dopers deserved it. Well now so do you.

Whatever you did to the least of these, you did to Me.

It is way worse than that my friend. You have done it to yourself.

Or to mix my religious metaphors: Karma is a bitch. Don't like being bitch slapped? Most unfortunate.

There is a reason us small government types favor small limited government without exception. It is safer that way. For all concerned.

Monday, November 22, 2010

In Letter To A Friend I discussed how legal precedents made to favor the drug war are now coming back to bite those who favored the Drug War but who are now against ObamaCare. Well it is getting a might embarrassing. Because we now have at least one name to attach the charge to.

Several prominent conservative drug warriors signed on to an amicus brief in Raich endorsing an expansive use of the Commerce Clause. Copy, paste, and replace the word “marijuana” with “health insurance,” and you just wrote a Department of Justice brief for any of the suits defending Obamacare across the nation.

Or, for a good laugh, go read former Oklahoma congressman Ernest Istook, now working for Heritage, who frames the health care debate as “Obamacare vs. Limited Government.” As he puts it: “Straining to find a constitutional basis for mandating that everyone must buy health insurance, Obama’s lawyers resorted to the all-purpose Interstate Commerce Clause.” Istook signed on to the drug warrior brief in Raich.

I have been telling these fools forever. How you stick it to dopers will one day determine how it is stuck to you. Well the day has come. I hope they are enjoying the results. Because in a perverse way I am.

Reader linearthinker Sent me a link to a site that gives the degrees of separation from George Soros and other organizations and people in the database (expanding daily). According to the site it is only a game.

Think about all this the next time the Government subsidized $Green Jobs man comes on the telly promising a glorious future from electricity that costs 4X the price of current sources and is intermittent to boot. You down with 8 hours a day of refrigeration?

There is a unifying thread between the TSA and the drug war. The unifying thread? The search for contraband. You gave up the 4th Amendment to get at the dopers. And now that you are a suspect you have nothing to protect you. Because the 4th Amendment has already been torn down to make searching for contraband easier. And why was the 4th written? To make searching for contraband harder.

Now that Republicans have won the House a lot of them are thinking about how to fix the country. They have a program and they don't intend to drop it. They won this election and it is "use it and lose it" time (a game both parties play).

And the big dream seems to be a Pregnancy Enforcement Administration. The PEA. I mean if drugs are bad abortion is worse. It deserves at least an agency if not a cabinet position. I can just hear the report, "Mr. President, the current state of America's vaginas is....". And "We are proposing a 'get your mate pregnant day', with the view towards expanding it to a week, a month, a year, a decade..." "The department is working on a married couples porno to be shown on all stations at once so that the country's pregnancy rate can be increased..." "To keep the children from watching we will have roving bands of enforcers knocking on doors at random to see if the children are still up..... I think a $10,000 fine would be about right....." "In addition a $10,000 fine for not watching seems about right. We can justify it by saying that not watching affects Interstate Commerce..."

Absurd? Of course. It is government we are talking about.

And how about enforcement? I propose that the TSA send a few of their brains to this new agency so it will be staffed with properly trained PEA brains.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Some Birther Madness from Ulsterman’s Deep Throat. The she in question is supposed to be Nancy Pelosi. We shall she.

Insider: Well, she was at it again and then she says something along the lines of, “How about I just hand over the goddamn certification file. They want me to go there? Because that’s where they’re pushing me.”

Ulsterman: Certification file? What is that? Do you mean certificate file? Birth certificate?

Insider: Hell if I know – no…it was certification file – assume it has something to do with the whole birther thing – eligibility maybe? Just thought you might want to hear it. Just thought you might find it…interesting! It’s an odd thing to say, right? And it’s even odder that it was said like that period. The person who shared it with me thought so. Then again, they also said Pelosi was for certain heading out of Congress not so long ago, so who knows anymore. Looks like she’s clawing her way back in, the tough old -expletive-. But if you want to chase that particular tail in a circle I thought I’d throw you that bone. Go fetch! (laughs) …I don’t mean to laugh. Hell, fact is people are talking about this subject. Nobody wants to admit it in the open, but they are talking about it. Or whispering at least – but I want nothing to do with that -expletive-. Something like that will get your ass killed. No joke.

This could be the smoking gun. Or just the smoking bong. Only time will tell.

And then the insider goes on to what he considers the real deal.

Insider:....No, let’s just stick to the real deal, right? Because THAT is what is going to kick the president’s ass – and I’m talking kick that ass right to the goddamn curb! You got that? TO – THE – CURB. You hear the reporting – it’s out there. You read it, right? We got the DOJ, we got the bank closures, we got the Rezko sentencing, we got the Blagotrial…all this -expletive – and more…everything is coming together. Everything that has been ignored for too long is finally getting some attention. And these dogs will hunt – I guarantee you that. Those Republicans on the Hill? Oh yeah, those little -expletive- are gonna bring the hammer down on this. They are gonna break every damn thing open until they find it – and they are gonna get help from some Democrats along the way. And you know the president knows it. His people know it. They are all hunkered down, eyes shifting this way and that, wonderin’ if it’s gonna be this scandal or that scandal or this, that, and the other scandal. One is gonna lead to one is gonna lead to the other.

The Insider thought that Nancy Pelosi would retire so she can covertly release information that will make the investigation easier. But she didn't retire. She got elected minority leader. Insider thought that if that happened the fix was in.

Insider: Ok, so if I’m being told this, being told repeatedly that Speaker Pelosi has had it with the White House, has had it with the president, is gonna help send them all packin’ away to political has-been street, and then she actually stays on as party leader, that means something happened. Something changed from what I am being told. Or somebody got it wrong – and either way, I can be -expletive- over on this whole thing. Do you realize how powerful a Speaker of the House really is? And Pelosi is about as tough a Speaker as I’ve seen. Tough-though lady. Not someone you wanna make an enemy of, right? So…if-if…if she stays on as party leader, that means she was got to. That means she made a deal. And if she was gonna help crack heads over at the White House, that means she probably made a deal with them, right? And that means this information she was supposed to help leak out there to the rest of us, to others, will probably disappear.

Ulsterman: But the Republicans will control Congress. Pelosi won’t be Speaker. Seems like that information would still get out there. Why wouldn’t it?

Insider: Because the only way the White House would agree to a deal is if they were given that information to keep for themselves or had assurances it as no longer available. They are not going to just allow Pelosi to keep holding it over them. You see, the White House was sending out strong signals that Pelosi must go. I know this. I heard it first hand from members of Congress. She is gone. So if she all of a sudden stays, and stays as leader of the party, that means the White House stopped pushing for her to be gone. And that means a deal was made. And THAT means I’m left scrambling for cover in all of this. And so is everyone who has been talking to me. The Republicans don’t take over until 2011, right? Whatever information Pelosi has on Obama – and she has it. Don’t you doubt that. She’s got it. Well, that information could easily be no more by January. Bye-bye, gone. Replaced, misplaced – never was, never will be again. That -expletive- happens all the time. I mean all the time.

Well there is way more on the Ulsterman site. It will be interesting to see who double crosses whom first.

The Insider's final thoughts should Pelosi be elected Minority Leader? Duck and cover kid. Duck and -expletive- cover… Well she was elected. We live in interesting times. Way too interesting.

Update: The very latest on the birther question. Well latest to me. Sept. 26 this year. It discusses the certification file. It also makes some unwarranted assumptions (they so want this to be true). So be careful out there. I did find it helpful when it comes to keeping up with the latest birther angle. Who knows? There may be something to this one.

I have some confirmation of the birther questioninformation here. Purported copies of the two different types of certification. Curiouser and curiouser.

I just had an odd thought. What if the above is Hillary's words being put in Pelosi's mouth and Deep Throat is Carville? This stuff will drive you nuts.

For those of you hoping for a music post. Let me get that one out of the way at once. Now to the matter of current interest: Is Obama goading Congress into passing the DREAM "Amnesty for Illegals" Act? Robert Heston thinks so.

It appears that President Obama hasn’t learned a thing from the Democrats disastrous midterm elections just a few weeks ago. He’s now attempting a back door approach to pass an unwanted immigration bill. Apparently he’s willing to shoot himself in the other foot too.

So far the Lame Stream Media in an attempt to improve their ratings has been covering this up. And the sneaky part? They are tacking this DREAM ACT on to a defense bill. Too clever by half.

To help clarify the issue here let’s admit one thing. “Immigration Reform” is PC speak for amnesty. This article is intended to address the current status of the Dream Act, and not the larger issue of illegal immigration. It is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. But this sleazy back door approach will be just as divisive as the Health Care Bill if it receives much media coverage. It’s even being pushed by the same people who gave us the Health Care Bill. So far it’s received little coverage by the media, and that’s to Obama’s benefit. If it does become a major topic of the media, Obama and the Democrats will have shot themselves in the other foot.

I wish he'd quit aiming for the feet and try for something a little higher.

Every time a discussion of the correct scope of the laws comes up with social conservatives this little ditty or something like it is trotted out to justify the death penalty for picking your nose or for growing the wrong kind of plants.

So do you advocate getting rid of laws that deal harsh consequences for such acts as murder, robbery, and physical assault?

Well thanks for putting the fish in my barrel. I have my sawed off shotgun ready so how about a few blasts?

1. Laws against that kind of behavior are universal. Something on the order of 99% to 99.99% of humans would agree. Murderers don't want to be murdered. Robbers don't like being robbed. Thieves don't like getting their stuff stolen.

2. It only takes 5% of the population to disagree with a law to make enforcement very hard. Up around 10% to 20% it becomes impossible.

3. Criminal transactions are very hard to police - there is a willing seller and a willing buyer and if they are clandestine enough no one to complain.

4. Laws that create black markets corrupt police. Every where some one is getting paid to look the other way to let the deal go down. With crimes of malice such looking the other way is more difficult. People get emotionally involved when a relative is wronged. Or they are wronged.

5. By the time the USSR collapsed it was one big black market. Why even push in that direction? Do you know what the stability margin for civilization is? You want to test it?

6. Are you so thin brained that you are unable to conceive of solving social problems without government guns? Liberals have a similar problem.

And as soon as The Republican Party becomes a party that is more than a fiscal conservative party many of the the Democrats, libertarians, independents, gays, and others who are part of the current Republican coalition will vote D or stay home.

How did that Alan Keyes thing work out in Illinois? Not well. Not well at all. Most unfortunate.

The Old Guard still doesn’t get it. And they have a LOT of support. Good. Because without the stupid party the evil party wouldn’t have a chance. I guess the thinking is that if you attack enough of your allies it will make it easier to win the next election. It will be interesting to see how that works out.

Stuck on stupid. It is not just for Democrats anymore.

You don’t win over the “leave us alone” crowd by meddling in their affairs. They are subtle and quick to anger.

AMAZON: We’re leaking our Black Friday deals early. And just a reminder that when you buy anything from Amazon through links on this site (or the search box over in the right sidebar), you put a little money in my family’s pocket at no cost to you.

Well nice for him to say. He still has a nice cushy job as a law professor. So he is probably doing OK+ by selling from Amazon.

I'm not going to give you my hard luck story. There are millions of them out there. But if you would like to help out (My kids get their holiday gifts in February/March. After any income from holiday sales has cleared.) Use this link or the ones on the sidebar to buy stuff:

Friday, November 19, 2010

Senator Michael J. Doherty (R-Hunterdon, Warren) and Senator James Beach (D-Camden) today announced they will present resolutions to the Senate and Assembly calling on the U.S. Congress to end TSA screening procedures requiring full body scans and pat downs at U.S. airports Their action comes in response to widespread concerns over privacy and radiation, as well as reports of inappropriate conduct by TSA agents during the screening process.

“The pursuit of security should not force Americans to surrender their civil liberties or basic human dignity at a TSA checkpoint,” said Doherty. “Subjecting law-abiding American citizens to naked body scans and full body pat downs is intolerable, humiliating, vulnerable to abuse, and is fast becoming a disincentive to travel. Particularly concerning to us is the fact that physical searches result in children being touched in private areas of the body. Terrorists hate America because of the freedoms upon which this great nation was built. By implementing these screening measures, the TSA has already handed a victory to those who seek to destroy our freedoms.”

As you know the abortion discussion has been going hot and heavy here in the last few days. I have written a fair number of posts on the subject lately. Abortion Prohibition is a good example of the discussion. And of course the subject spills over into my e-mail box. So I wrote a letter to a friend.

===

I am positive you and those of similar opinions (lots of them in my inbox) mean well. But you are a one level thinker.

"If the government with my party in power did xxx we would have a much better country."

You fail to take it to the second level. What could be done when a party not in power gets control and that party did not have the best interests of the country at heart. Like the current soon to be partly replaced regime. What could an evil party do with the precedent? We see that already with Raich. Wickard was on the way to being overturned (Lopez - gun free school zones case) and then Scalia let his social conservatism overcome his reason. And now Raich will be used to justify the Health Care Abomination. Be very careful what you wish for.

Why are engineers mostly libertarians? Because they take second and third order effects into account as a matter of course. "I designed this for a household environment. What happens when it is used in a leaky garage. Or a steamy bathroom?"

You are thinking optimum environment. A mistake made by rookie engineers. It takes seasoning to get an engineer think at all times about what could go wrong.

So yeah. Banning abortion sounds like a good thing. But humans are involved. American humans. A notoriously obstreperous species. They are famous for circumventing laws they don't like. One of the reasons Alcohol Prohibition failed.

Look up Ron Paul on abortion. He is as prolife as it gets. And yet he thinks that at least the Feds ought to stay out of it. And if the Feds stay out of it you can only affect it at the margins because people will travel. And groups (above ground or below ground) will come in to provide funds to the indigent.

Once you allow government into women's vaginas how could that precedent be used for mischief? I can think of lots of ways. Even on the State level. TSA cavity screening for instance. Or something that will come up when 200+ million are thinking of the subject. It only takes one - and then it goes viral.

Why not contact Rockford Pro Life and tell them the Simon family sent you. My mate and I are friends with some of the members. Find out their program. Repeat it where you live. And get a secular version going too for those who are not religiously affiliated. So much to be done while you waste your time fighting with me. Why do I fight back? I worry about unintended consequences.

And think of it. Do you really want women who don't want children reproducing? Darwin in action. In a generation or three and certainly ten we will have women with very strong reproductive urges. Micro evolution in action. Cold? Yes. But the problem is self solving over time if you avoid meddling. We see it already when it comes to lefties. Those are the folks (mostly) having abortions. They have no children to "teach". You want them reproducing? Why?

Thing is, even if they succeed in outlawing abortion, it's still going to go on. Except among the poor, who won't be able to afford them easily. (I speak as someone who was a teenager - middle class - BEFORE Roe v Wade - no, I never needed one, but I knew a number who did. And they all got one - and not back in alleys, either.) All that Roe v. Wade really did was make them more affordable for the poor. The rich got 'd&c for polyps' from their own doctors - they never had any problems at all with 'legal' abortions. The middle class found sympathetic (and quite sterile) doctors to do much the same.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Is Obama planning to rule by executive order? Ulsterman thinks so. And he has some evidence.

John Podesta of the George Soros funded Center for American Progress is now urging President Obama to side step Congressional approval and simply utilize executive authority to move forward with sweeping reforms Podesta deems necessary for the good of the American people. These reforms include the following:

Well that is just for openers. They have a few more things up their sleeves. Like ending free speech.

Democrats keep OPENLY talking about doing all sorts of things that are so damn blatantly un-American.

Taking FOX News, a business, off the air?

How is that the purview of the government?

Here’s my gut feeling: the next five to ten years are going to be ROUGH. The Left is pushing so hard now for a reason…and that is because this seems to be their last chance ever.

The welfare states of Europe have failed. We’re broke. There is no money to keep paying entitlement programs and supporting the unions. The Democrat Party is on the verge of collapse. They know it. So they are going to push as much madness as possible while they still can.

We just need to resist them, hold them at bay, and then stake the Left’s corpse when it falls.

It is going to be TOUGH and no fun, but we need to work hard together to take the Left down…for all of your kids.

Yeah. I'm in this fight all the way.

Here is Rockefeller suggesting that the FCC take FOX and MSNBC off the air.

And isn't it cute that he attacks the left and the right? Swell. And the reason for doing this? Cable costs too much. Right. I guess the only way to make free speech cheaper is to have less of it.

Funny thing is that the FCC is part of the executive branch. Hmmmmmmmmm. I think I see a pattern here.

To change other people; to end class conflict; to control big business; to segregate society

Interesting. So where are we today? Segregation is a totally discredited idea. Good. I'm rather proud to say that I was in on that one.

But we are still engaged in class conflict. That sucks. And big business has taken over government. Here is a prime example. In other words the oligarchs (often called crony capitalists these days) are in control. For now.

But what is the big thing on the right these days? An unquenchable desire to change other people. For some the desire for Power and Control never ends. In modern times it is not sold as a naked power grab. It is couched in "enforcing morality" terms. My friend Eric wrote a very good one on that subject. Does freedom to sin violate religious freedom? Of course that "enforcing morality" bit got us the Alcohol Prohibition Amendment back when left and right progressives were working together hand in glove. Well that one was a total disaster. The left has learned from its mistake. Those on the right are a little slower to catch on.

THE "lights could go out" over Scotland unless new power stations are built in the next two years to ward off a looming electricity crisis, the head of one of Scotland's most successful companies has warned Alex Salmond.

Rupert Soames, chief executive of power supply firm Aggreko, told the First Minister that the National Grid will lose a third of its capacity by 2018 as a string of nuclear, gas and oil-fired power stations across the UK are retired - including several in Scotland.

Mr Soames claimed that no other industrialised country in the world is at risk of losing so much of its energy supply at the same time - and without a realistic back-up plan.

He urged both the Scottish and UK governments to postpone green energy targets by a decade. Unless "the concrete is poured" on a new fleet of power stations within the next two years, Mr Soames warned, "we will be in serious danger of the lights going out".

As usual the geniuses in charge of government are behind the move.

Mr Soames, the boss of the FTSE 100 firm - which has supplied energy for events including the World Cup and the Beijing Olympics, accused Scottish ministers of "wishful thinking" on renewable energy targets, which are among the most ambitious in the world.

You know guys if you want a reliable electrical supply it might be a good idea to put engineers in charge rather than lawyers and politicians.

Warning. The above video is quite disturbing. I couldn't watch it all. Let me add that the link to the video was sent to me by Eric my blog master at Classical Values.

Here is a question for all my "the government must do something about abortion" friends: How do you prevent abortion enforcement from looking like what you saw in that video? And don't forget the above enforcement action was based on a a mistake by the police. And in the end the woman involved was only charged with a misdemeanor.

Do you think the vagina police won't make mistakes about something as serious as abortion? You hate the thought of your wives and daughters being groped by the TSA. How are you going to feel about them being molested by the vagina police?

You want to trust your mate's or daughter's vagina to the government?

Are you insane?

OK. You only want to shut down abortion clinics. What will you do about menstrual extraction parties? The black market in RU-486? The use of birth control pills to induce abortion?

And all this for a crime that most of those who even think of it as a crime put in the category of misdemeanor manslaughter and the woman goes free. Is that worth making the government bigger? And you know if government gets a hold of the project it is guaranteed to fail. Why? Because jobs will depend on failure. And of course there will be corruption. How else can police be paid what they think they are really worth? Not all of them. Not even most of them. But enough. Always enough.

And what happens when failure breeds calls for weekly urine testing of women? After all we have the Drug War Precedent. And that is without probable cause. How much easier will it be to gin up probable cause for pregnancy? A flush of the cheeks. A swelling of the belly. A happy mood. Wide mood swings. Symptoms of nausea. And how about minders? More properly call snitches or confidential informants and better know in totalitarian countries as secret police adjuncts. Is that the kind of country you want?

Better to leave the whole question in private hands. Which is why I support Rockford Pro Life. A group that wants to keep government out of the abortion question. I met them at a TEA Party rally.

And then we have the Jewish position on abortion. Which is rather different from the Catholic position on abortion. Which religion is to prevail? And how about those with no religion? Do they get a say? Can they opt out? Or will this be another one size fits all government policy?

Do you really want to get your religious position enacted into law? Trying to start a religious war my friends?

And how will investigating every "life of the mother" abortion work out? Some one is going to have to look at every therapeutic abortion for evidence of a crime. And what if a doctor is mistaken? Will he be brought up on charges the way doctors who make honest mistakes in prescribing pain medications are today? And guess what. That is a Drug War Exception to the practice of medicine.

What about the Democrat plan to destroy the TEA Party movement over the abortion question? You can find out about that here:

There is a heck of a lot of complaining about the latest body groping rules implemented by the TSA. The thing is we gave up ownership of our bodies a long time ago when we let urine screening for employment pass without a murmur. All for the greater good to be sure. The Drug War exception to the 4th Amendment has just expanded a little. Why the outrage?

Well some people have been outraged for a while. And they have written books:

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

A leading Israeli airport security expert says the Canadian government has wasted millions of dollars to install "useless" imaging machines at airports across the country.

"I don't know why everybody is running to buy these expensive and useless machines. I can overcome the body scanners with enough explosives to bring down a Boeing 747," Rafi Sela told parliamentarians probing the state of aviation safety in Canada.

"That's why we haven't put them in our airport," Sela said, referring to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport, which has some of the toughest security in the world.

I guess since a Jew said he could bring down a 747 with explosives it will now be open season on Jews.

I went through the scanner fully cooperating and followed the instructions. Yet I was still taken aside as I exited the machine. No warning bells went off like with the old metal detectors, so I thought it might be random.

As I was asked to move aside, a TSA woman said to me: “Do you know you look like Ron Jeremy (the porn star)? I guess you get that a lot.” I replied that I also got “Gene Simmons,” which I preferred. Needless to say, I replied to them in a polite manner despite the inappropriate banter.

And the name of the guy who got the "treatment"? Andrew Ian Dodge. That doesn't sound Jewish to me.

The TEA Parties have fired a shot across the bow of the old guard of the Republican Party. You will know the old guard better by their philosophy. Simply put: "if you are right on abortion hardly anything else matters." Not fiscal conservatism. Not small government. And especially not winning national elections.

Representatives of the loosely organized tea party movement urged GOP leaders in a letter released Monday to abandon their fronts in the culture wars – issues such as gay marriage, school prayer, and abortion – and instead focus their new electoral power on individual liberties and "economic freedoms."

The letter, signed by 16 tea party groups and a conservative gay organization, points to an emerging rift between the tea party movement and the GOP, which still counts social conservatives seeking "moral government" as a key constituency.

The signatories, ranging from conservative commentator Tammy Bruce to local tea party group leaders, say the key lesson the GOP should draw from the election is that Americans are concerned chiefly about taxes and the size of government, not their neighbors' lifestyle choices or personal decisions.

But the push to quit the culture wars is already meeting resistance from mainstream Republicans, who worry about a rebellion from social conservatives if the party refrains from taking stands on moral issues.

The Republican Party as constituted is an unnatural coalition. The interests of the two main factions are not congruent. You have what is essentially a "leave us alone coalition" at odds with the "if we don't have government guns to enforce our moral vision what is the point?" types. Of course it is a rather weak moral vision that requires guns to keep people in line. A contradiction my "moral government" friends don't get. And on top of that government by its nature must engage in immoral acts as a practical matter. Murder, theft, spying, torture, slavery, coercion, etc. Of course we want to keep that sort of thing to a minimum. But until the arrival of the moshiach we are stuck with it.

Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.

And even when it gets some eloquence it wears thin after a while. Torture elevated by eloquence is still torture.

On behalf of limited government conservatives everywhere we write to urge you and your colleagues in Washington to put forward a legislative agenda in the next Congress that reflects the principles of the Tea Party movement.

Poll after poll confirms that the Tea Party’s laser focus on issues of economic freedom and limited government resonated with the American people on Election Day.

The Tea Party movement galvanized around a desire to return to constitutional government and against excessive spending, taxation and government intrusion into the lives of the American people.

The Tea Party movement is a non-partisan movement, focused on issues of economic freedom and limited government, and a movement that will be as vigilant with a Republican-controlled Congress as we were with a Democratic-controlled Congress.

This election was not a mandate for the Republican Party, nor was it a mandate to act on any social issue, nor should it be interpreted as a political blank check.

Already, there are Washington insiders and special interest groups that hope to co-opt the Tea Party’s message and use it to push their own agenda – particularly as it relates to social issues. We are disappointed but not surprised by this development. We recognize the importance of values but believe strongly that those values should be taught by families and our houses of worship and not legislated from Washington, D.C.

We urge you to stay focused on the issues that got you and your colleagues elected and to resist the urge to run down any social issue rabbit holes in order to appease the special interests.

The Tea Party movement is not going away and we intend to continue to hold Washington accountable.

Now about the Drug War. I think it is too soon for that issue. But we will get to it. It seems rather stupid to have the Feds spend $25 billion a year to make illegal drugs easier for kids to get than legal beer.

"When they were out in the Boston Harbor, they weren't arguing about who was gay or who was having an abortion," said Ralph King, a letter signatory who is a Tea Party Patriots national leadership council member, as well as an Ohio co-coordinator.

King said he signed onto the letter because GOProud seemed to be genuine in pushing for fiscal conservatism and limited government.

"Am I going to be the best man at a same sex-marriage wedding? That's not something I necessarily believe in," said King. "I look at myself as pretty socially conservative. But that's not what we push through the Tea Party Patriots."

That indifference is essentially the point of the gay conservative group.

"For almost two years now, the tea party has been laser-focused on the size of government," said Barron, who said his group and the tea partiers are part of the "leave-me-alone coalition."

Yeah. Leave us the fuck alone. And we are as serious as death about it.

Monday, November 15, 2010

What is this all about? It is about a boy who was told not to ride his bike on school property with an American flag on his bike. From 12 November:

13-year-old Cody Alicea rides with an American flag on the back of his bike. He says he does this to be patriotic and to honor veterans, like his own grandfather, Robert. He's had the flag on his bike for two months but Monday, was told to take it down.

A school official at Denair Middle School told Cody some students had been complaining about the flag and it was no longer allowed on school property.

"In this country we're supposed to be free," said Cody. "And I should be able to wave my flag wherever I want to. And they're telling me I can't." Cody had to take the flag off his bike and put it in his backpack, where he kept it all week.

Cody's grandfather says the school was concerned about racial tensions or uprisings because of the flag. He feels if there was really a problem it should have been brought up two months ago, not during Veterans week. And if it was an issue of safety, parents should have been contacted.

That video was such a thrill for me. I love the sound of Harleys in the morning. It sounds like victory. So when you watch - turn it up.

I found this explanation of the TEA Parties on the www. (doesn't deserve a link)

I was asked what is the Tea Party today by my wife. She doesn't pay any attention to politics, especially US politics. I think she knows the USA has a relatively young black President and she can probably name him. But that is about it.

The question made me stumble for an answer. But I finally gave one. A Tea Partier is someone who says they want governmental change. Most of them say they want the government to stop spending and have less power over the individual. But most of them wouldn't have a problem if the government were to make it mandatory to teach creationism in schools and ban abortion.

Most of them have no idea what governments do or have a clue about Economics 101. And most of them are just looking for an excuse to get rid of a black President.

Most folks with this explanation of the TEA Party were taught cretinism in school.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Thomas Friedman says the Republicans need shiny new ideas not the same tired old ones. Especially when it comes to schools and global warming climate change. Well I'm here to help.

Ohm's Law is a tired old idea. Let us scrap it for something new. I propose Allah's Law. The answer is whatever Allah wills. No wrong answers. We will use it to design Allah's Green Power Grid. You get electricity whenever Allah wills it.

Should you decide to opt out, you must be aware that the TSA will perform a pat down instead of subjecting you to the WBI/AIT (AKA porno-scanner). The TSA may try to pressure you into submitting to the scanners . You are not required by law to submit to imaging, however, many TSA employees may attempt to intimidate, coerce or insist that it is required. You will need to be firm, and sometimes will not be allowed to opt out unless you state in exactly these words “I opt out.” While you should be able to opt out using your own terms, such as requesting a pat down instead, or stating that you will not be photographed nude, remember that not all screeners will be respectful of your decision. They may continue to insist until you say “I opt out.” In these cases it is up to the individual traveler to determine whether to stand firm or to use the TSA’s preferred wording.

WARNING: Enhanced Pat Down

Be aware that the TSA is using what they call an “enhanced pat down” in many instances. These pat downs are much more rigorous and often include the TSA using their palms to touch your genitals in a manner that could feel like sexual assault. If you feel that you or your child were inappropriately touched during the enhanced pat down, call for a law enforcement officer.

Fortunately Big Brother only has your best interests at heart. Especially if you are a good looking lady with a C cup or better.

David Rittgers at National Review takes a look at how a Supreme Court decision on the Drug War is being used to justify the individual mandate in the recently passed Health Care Bill. Here are Dave's opening remarks:

If the generation of “limited government” lawmakers freshly chosen to man the trenches in Washington wishes to be taken seriously, the butcher’s bill must include some of the social conservatives’ sacred cows.

Well Commerce Clause Jurisprudence starting with Wickard vs. Filburn does the trick. David begins his explanation:

Many conservatives have long argued that the federal government is broadly empowered to prosecute the drug war under Congress’s authority over interstate commerce. In the name of the drug war, they have been willing to allow federal law-enforcement officers to prosecute seriously ill patients who use medical marijuana in compliance with their states’ laws.

Many of those same conservatives are now finding that the terrible, swift sword of expansive federal power that they endorsed in the name of drug prohibition has now been turned on them in the form of Obamacare’s individual mandate.

The Justice Department is defending Obamacare by asserting that a 2005 Supreme Court case, Gonzales v. Raich, permits such a broad reading of the Commerce Clause that the federal government can tell individual citizens that they have to buy health insurance.

Let me give you the short version. Angel Raich and Diane Monson were growing medical marijuana to ease Angel Raich's pain from an inoperable brain tumor and several other conditions caused by that tumor. Justice Thomas wrote a brilliant dissent in that case. Let me quote a part of it.

Respondents Diane Monson and Angel Raich use marijuana that has never been bought or sold, that has never crossed state lines, and that has had no demonstrable effect on the national market for marijuana. If Congress can regulate this under the Commerce Clause, then it can regulate virtually anything–and the Federal Government is no longer one of limited and enumerated powers.

And there you have it. Conservatives cheered when Raich lost her case.

And here is David's final comment on Obamacare/Raich:

The jump from Raich to Obamacare is a short one, at least in the government’s eyes. The dissenters in Raich predicted the expansion of Commerce Clause authority. Justice Thomas warned that if the federal government could override a state’s licensing of medical marijuana, “then it can regulate virtually anything — and the Federal Government is no longer one of limited and enumerated powers.” Justice O’Connor noted the “perverse incentive to legislate broadly pursuant to the Commerce Clause” — the more broadly Congress writes a law, the more likely Raich’s logic is to uphold it. O’Connor discussed how the Court’s logic would allow the government to regulate (and ban) non-commercial activities that would detract from regulated markets, such as home-care substitutes for daycare. This would be funny, if a federal judge had not just ruled that being alive and breathing means you must buy health insurance or face the consequences.

A principled stand on the limits of federal power does not begin and end with health care. The Commerce Clause is a double-edged sword: Conservatives cannot wield it in the drug war without making it a useful tool for advancing progressive visions of federal power.

No money changed hands in Raich and that affected Interstate Commerce. The same argument will be used to justify Obama Care. If you don't buy insurance you will be affecting Interstate Commerce. I don't see how you get around that.

Which means that we can not depend on the courts to save us. Now it is up to the legislature. But that means the end of the Republic. Because we are now subject to what ever laws the current or next Congress passes. We are now unprotected from the naked power of the State and the vote of the legislature. The era of limited government is over. Finito. It was nice while it lasted.

And all because Social Conservatives like Scalia hate drugs. Way to go guys. And for those of you who are of a social conservative bent may I remind you that wrath is a deadly sin. Is it ever.

So I'm over at Resist.net discussing the drug war with a guy who says I'm peddling hopelessness by showing how the narcos already control the government. I don't exactly see it that way:

If you don't face the problem you can't fix it. We can overthrow the narcos tomorrow by legalization. That one is easy. In theory. In practice too many on the right refuse to surrender (in the drug war) to win.

The purpose of the narcos in government is to maintain prohibition. If they can't do that they have nothing to do.

Will it fix the drug problem? No. Will it even fix the crime problem? No. But like alcohol legalization the crime problem will be reduced.

Then Skip chimes in to give me some advice:

For God's sake, don't you realize that if we admit imminent defeat and stop beating our chests, waiving our flags, and whining about dem Dems, then nobody will ever descend from the heavens and save our patriotic souls from Obama and his minions. Please don't jinx the fantasy. It is the narcotic that numbs the pain of our talk-big-but-do-little-or-nothing reality.

Well I had some choice words for Skip.

OK Skip,

You got me there.

Lulz. !!!!11!!!!!

Sometimes a good sound defeat sows the seeds of victory. Think of Pearl Harbor. It made the carrier the center of our Naval doctrine. Because that was all we had. The Japanese didn't catch on until it was too late for them.

Or think of the Raich decision on Med-Pot. The social conservatives got their way and because of it we are still stuck with the Wickard vs. Filburn decision which essentially gave the Federal Government control over every nook and cranny of our economy. The social conservatives got their victory. And it is still costing them.

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